Michael Schumacher F1 driver biography | F1 Fanatic Michael Schumacher won more world championship and races than any other driver in a career which spanned 19 seasons. At times his unparalleled success raised questions over how it had been achieved. He first retired from the sport in 2006 while driving for Ferrari. He returned four years later with Mercedes, only to retire again at the end of 2012. Jordan His debut drive for Jordan at Spa in 1991 rocked the F1 establishment. Here was a little-known driver from the Mercedes sports car team qualifying seventh on the grid at one of the most respected circuits on the calendar. We quickly learned that Schumacher’s driving genius and controversy were never far apart. Flavio Briatore pounced to prise Schumacher out of his Jordan deal and got him into a Benetton for the next race. Benetton 1992-3 The following year Schumacher successfully interrupted the dominant Williams team’s stranglehold on success with an opportunistic win at the track where he made his debut. An off-track excursion gave him the opportunity to observe the state of his team mate’s tyres as the damp track dried.

Schumacher made a plucky call to switch to slick tyres earlier than his rivals, and his driving skill took care of the rest. That was the first of what would eventually be a record-smashing 91 wins. A further win followed in 1993, again snatched from the Williams juggernaut, this time thwarting Alain Prost at Portugal. 1994 But in 1994 the way became clear for Schumacher to lay waste to the F1 history books. Most of the recent champions had retired or were retiring. Three races into the season Ayrton Senna was killed at Imola. By the end of the year Schumacher had won nine of the 16 races. But his Benetton team were repeatedly accused of cheating. The FIA found evidence of an illegal traction control system on the car. After Schumacher’s team mate Jos Verstappen suffered an horrendous fire during the German Grand Prix an investigation discovered a filter had been removed from the fuel rig. Years later, Verstappen insisted Schumacher’s car had not been legal.

Schumacher was disqualified from the British Grand Prix after overtaking Damon Hill on the formation lap, and was banned from a further two races for failing to heed the black flag to begin with. And at Spa he was stripped of a win for a technical infringement. This left him with a scant one-point lead heading into the season finale at Adelaide. Under intense pressure from Hill, Schumacher went off and damaged his car. Seeing his promised title slip into away he swung into the side of Hill’s car as the Williams driver moved to pass him, taking both out and securing the title for himself. 1995 His second title in 1995 was achieved with less controversy and more displays of driving greatness. The season got off to a slow start but once Schumacher got into his stride the wins came thick and fast, Hill was simply out-classed – the pair clashed twice on-track at Silverstone and Monza. In wet conditions at Spa and the Nurburgring Schumacher produced virtuouso drivers, leading many to conclude that in Schumacher a new F1 great had been found.

Ferrari 1996 Having conquered F1 with Benetton, Schumacher resolved to do it all over again with Ferrari . It took five years to bring the drivers’ title home to the Scuderia, with a few near-misses on the way. It was clear from the outset that little would be achieved with the F310. But when the teams assembled at a near-flooded Catalunya circuit for the seventh round of the season, Schumacher battled through the field and disappeared off to a dominant victory. He added two more by the end of the year, at Belgium and Italy. 1997 With Benetton ally Ross Brawn rejoining him for 1997 Schumacher was ready for another crack at the title. He persistently took points off rival Jacques Villeneuve despite his Williams often enjoying a considerable performance advantage. When rain fell at Monaco and Spa Schumacher was untouchable. The season took a controversial twist at the penultimate race in Suzuka, where Villeneuve collected a hefty penalty for going too quickly through a yellow flag zone.

Schumacher’s team mate Eddie Irvine – who’d grown used to the idea that he was expected to support rather than rival his team mate – was deployed to help Schumacher win the race, and go into the season finale with a one-point lead. At Jerez events took a familiar turn. Villeneuve reeled Schumacher in and pounced – only to find the Ferrari swerving unavoidably into his path. This time the contact proved terminal only for Schumacher – Villeneuve was able to limp to the flag and claim the championship. Schumacher was vilified but the sport’s governing body stayed its hand. It handed down a token punishment of exclusion from the 1997 championship (not that second place mattered much to Schumacher) and required him to participate in a road safety initiative. 1998 In 1998 Schumacher faced a stronger opponent in the form of his old F3 rival Mika Hakkinen . Equipped with a fearsomely fast McLaren , Hakkinen began the year with a pair of wins. Schumacher hit back and the two pushed each other hard all season.

The championship went down to the wire at Suzuka where Schumacher started from pole position – only to face demotion to the back of the grid after his car overheated on the line and wouldn’t start. Schumacher battled his way through the field but a puncture finally ended his hopes and confirmed Hakkinen as the champion. 1999 Schumacher’s 1999 championship bud ended when his right-rear brake failed on the Hangar straight at Silverstone on the first lap of the race. His car hurtled off the track at Stowe, plunging head-on into the barrier. He suffered a broken leg. The year had begun well with victories in San Marino and Monaco. At the British Grand Prix McLaren and Hakkinen hit back, and given how Hakkinen’s title bid went off the rails in Schumacher’s absence it’s possible he might have won the championship had he not been injured. Schumacher returned to the cockpit at Sepang for the penultimate race, now expected to support Irvine’s bid for the championship. This he did in a crushing display of superiority, first disappearing off into the distance, then holding rivlas up while letting Irvine through to win.

But at the season finale in Japan Schumacher had no reply for Hakkinen, who wrapped up his second title. 2000 Ferrari’s wait for their next drivers’ champion finally ended in 2000. Now partnered by Rubens Barrichello , Schumacher won the first three races of the year leaving Hakkinen with a lot of catching-up to do. At the middle part of the season it looked as though Schumacher was going to be denied again. First-lap crashes in Austria and Germany handed golden opportunities to McLaren. And at Spa Hakkinen triumphed in gripping battle with his Ferrari nemesis. Schumacher’s attempts to fend off Hakkinen’s attacks by pushing him onto the grass at 200mph drew fierce criticism from many – not least his rival. But that race marked a turning point in the season. Schumacher came back stronger and won the final four races, putting the title beyond Hakkinen’s grasp. He wouldn’t let go of the trophy for five years.

2001-2 The first half of the 2000s in Formula 1 was the story of total dominance by Ferrari and Schumacher – whether in terms of driving brilliance, technical innovation, reliability – or politics. Schumacher redefined the terms of domination in Formula 1. He won nine races in 2001, then 11 in 2002. No cars were able to rival the Ferraris – and it was clear from events at Austria in 2001 and 2002 – where Barrichello was twice ordered to pull over and let Schumacher past – that Ferrari were not interested in pairing him with any kind of serious rival. By 2002 the pairing of Schumacher with a fast, reliable Ferrari with its powerful engine and near-bespoke Bridgestone tyres combined to produce one of the most dominant seasons the sport has ever seen. The F2002 never let Schumacher down once, he finished every race on the podium, and set a new record by winning the world championship with six races to spare.

2003 The 2003 season proved much more closely matched as Schumacher came under pressure from the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya. But late in the season a controversial change in the rules forced Michelin – rival to Ferrari’s tyre supplier Bridgestone – to change the construction of their tyres. After that decision Ferrari won the next eight races in a row, and Schumacher collected title number six. 2004 In 2004 Schumacher pushed Ferrari’s devastation of the F1 competition to new heights. He won 12 of the first 13 races, and might have won the one that got away in Monaco but for a collision with Montoya. Once his seventh championship title was wrapped up Schumacher had an oddly uneven end to the season. He suffered a serious crash in testing at Monza, was all at sea at the new Shanghai circuit, and had a grid penalty in Brazil after crashing in practice and damaging his engine. This proved a foretate of a difficult 2005.

2005 What finally brought the Schumacher domination of F1 to an end was not the arrival of a new opponent but a change in the technical rules. In 2005 tyre changes during the race were banned, forcing both tyre companies to build harder compounds. Michelin mastered the technology while Bridgestone struggled. Schumacher won just once all year, the farcical United States Grand Prix where only the six Bridgestone-shod runners competed – those being the Ferraris plus the throroughly uncompetitive Jordans and Minardis. 2006 The tyre rules were changed back for 2006 and Ferrari were back on form. But Schumacher faced a tough rival in the shape of new world champion Fernando Alonso . This was as closely-matched a championship battle as has ever been fought. While Alonso managed four wins on the trot Schumacher hit back with a hat-trick of victories in the middle of the season. It brought out the best and worst in Schumacher once again.

His final victory in the rain Shanghai was up there with his very best – but parking his car during qualifying at Monaco to try to have the session stopped while he was on pole position was a crass stunt that fooled no-one – even the stewards couldn’t let that one go unpunished, sending Schumacher to the back of the grid. At a crucial point Ferrari’s usually exceptional reliabilit failed them. Schumacher’s engine blew while he was leading from Alonso at Japan. He narrowly lost the championship but signed off with a majestic drive against the odds to finish fourth at Interlagos after a puncture. It seemed a fitting conclusion to a great career – but it turned out this was not the end. Mercedes In 2009 it briefly looked as though Schumacher was going to make a surprise comeback after Felipe Massa was injured at the Hungaroring. But Schumacher had damaged his neck in a motor cycle racing accident earlier in the year, and after testing an F1 car discovered he could not return to the cockpit after all. Having whetted his appetite for a comeback, Schumacher later confirmed he would be racing in F1 again – but not for Ferrari.

Instead he joined the new Mercedes team in 2010. 2010 Three years away from the cockpit seemed to have dulled Schumacher’s edge on his return. Throughout the season he was comfortably handled by team mate Nico Rosberg . At times his driving looked distinctly desperate, particularly at the Hungaroring, where he was censured for almost pushing Rubens Barrichello into the pit wall as the pair battled for position. Schumacher stuck with it and the situation seemed to be improving towards the end of the season, achieving fourth place in the rain at Korea. 2011 Schumacher’s second season with Mercedes was a mixed bag – glimpses of his old form, albeit compromised by consistently poor qualifying and a string of race collisions, mostly involving Vitaly Petrov . When Schumacher had the car at the front of the field he was at his best, scrapping with the Red Bulls and McLarens in Canada, and resisting Lewis Hamilton for lap after lap at Monza. He ended the year behind Rosberg again, but much closer than he had been in 2010.

2012 The third year of Schumacher’s comeback got off to a promising start as the W03 proved immediately competitive. But he retired while running in a strong position in the first race and an error by his team in the pits ended his race in China, while Rosberg headed to victory. Unreliability cost Schumacher on several other occasions, mostly in the early part of the season when the car was at its best. But he also made mistakes, such as when he drove into the rear of Bruno Senna’s car during the Spanish Grand Prix. His grid penalty for the collision cost him what would have been pole position in Monaco. However in Valencia it finally came right and Schumacher finally returned to the podium, finishing third. That would be his final visit. Unsure whether he wished to continue in F1, Mercedes moved to sign Lewis Hamilton for 2013 leaving Schumacher to make a widely-anticipated return to retirement. He signed off with a final points finish in Brazil, symbolically pulling over for Sebastian Vettel as his countryman and successor headed to his third world championship.

At the end of his first year from retirement in Formula One, Schumacher fell while skiing in France and suffered serious head injuries. Following a lengthy stay in hospital he was returned home, but over two years since the accident there has been little information about his condition from the Schumacher family. Career stats Michael Schumacher - 1994, 1995, 2000-2004 Michael Schumacher Share Since the Formula One World Drivers' Championship began in 1950 the title has been won by 32 different drivers, 15 of whom won more than one championship. Of the multiple champions the most prolific was Juan Manuel Fangio, whose record of five titles stood for five decades until it was eclipsed by the most successful driver in the sport's history. Seven times a champion, Michael Schumacher also holds nearly every scoring record in the book by a considerable margin. Though his ethics were sometimes questioned, as was his decision to make a comeback after retiring, his sheer dominance when in his prime is beyond doubt...

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 7 Spa, August 1991: Michael Schumacher made his Formula One debut with Jordan at the Belgian Grand Prix. He qualified a sensational seventh, but then went out on lap one with clutch failure. © Sutton © No reproduction without permission. Adelaide, November 1991: After one race with Jordan Michael Schumacher switched to Benetton. He scored points with them on his first appearance. At the Australian Grand Prix he retired after colliding with his team mate. © Schlegelmilch © No reproduction without permission. Montreal, June 1994: After winning the opening four rounds of the season, Michael Schumacher then took his fifth victory in six races at the Canadian Grand Prix at the wheel of the Benetton B194. © Sutton © No reproduction without permission. Adelaide, November 1994: Michael Schumacher before he controversially collided with championship rival Damon Hill at the season ending Australian Grand Prix. Both drivers retired, handing Schumacher his first world title. © Sutton © No reproduction without permission.

Monza, September 1995: Michael Schumacher is restrained by a marshal as he remonstrates with Damon Hill after the Englishman took them both out of the Italian Grand Prix. Hill subsequently received a suspended one-race ban. © Sutton © No reproduction without permission. Adelaide, November 1995: Michael Schumacher crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix on lap 26. It was of little consequence as he had wrapped up his second world championship two races earlier. © Sutton © No reproduction without permission. Monte Carlo, May 1996: Michael Schumacher moved to Ferrari as reigning champion. After starting on pole he would retire from the Monaco Grand Prix. However, his first victory for the team came at the next round in Spain. © Sutton © No reproduction without permission. Info Close The most extraordinary driver's origins were most ordinary. He was born on 3 January, 1969, near Cologne, Germany, six years before his brother Ralf, who would also become a Formula One driver of note. Their father, a bricklayer, ran the local kart track, at Kerpen, where Mrs Schumacher operated the canteen.

As a four-year old Michael enjoyed playing on a pedal kart, though when his father fitted it with a small motorcycle engine the future superstar promptly crashed into a lamppost. But Michael quickly mastered his machine and won his first kart championship at six, following which his far from affluent parents arranged sponsorship from wealthy enthusiasts that enabled Michael to make rapid progress. By 1987 he was German and European kart champion and had left school to work as an apprentice car mechanic, a job that was soon replaced by full-time employment as a race driver. In 1990 he won the German F3 championship and was hired by Mercedes to drive sportscars. The next year he made a stunning Formula One debut, qualifying an astonishing seventh in a Jordan for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, whereupon he was immediately snapped up by Benetton, with whom in 1992 he won his first F1 race, again at Spa, among the most demanding circuits of them all. Over the next four seasons with Benetton he won a further 18 races and two world championships.

His first, in 1994, was somewhat tainted in that Benetton was suspected of technical irregularities and in their championship showdown race in Adelaide Schumacher collided (deliberately, some thought) with the car of his closest challenger, the Williams of Damon Hill. But Germany's first world champion was unquestionably worthy of the 1995 driving title, following which he moved to Ferrari, then a team in disarray and without a champion since Jody Scheckter in 1979. The Schumacher-Ferrari combination began promisingly with three wins in 1996 and five more in 1997, though that season ended in humiliation when in the final race, at Jerez in Spain, Schumacher tried unsuccessfully to ram the Williams of his title rival Jacques Villeneuve off the road. As punishment for his misdemeanour Schumacher's points and his second place in the championship were stricken from the record books he would thereafter begin to rewrite. After finishing second overall in 1998, Schumacher's 1999 season was interrupted by a broken leg (the only injury in his career) incurred in a crash at the British Grand Prix.

From then on there was no stopping 'Schumi' - who in 2000 became Ferrari's first champion in 21 years, then went on to win the driving title for the next four years in succession. In 2002 he won 11 times and finished on the podium in all 17 races. In 2003 he broke Fangio's record by winning his sixth driving title. In 2004 he won 13 of the 18 races to win his seventh championship by a by a massive margin. Like all the great drivers Schumacher had exceptional ambition, confidence, intelligence, motivation, dedication and determination. What set him apart and helped account for his unprecedented length of time at the top was a pure passion for racing and an endless quest for improvement. Blessed with a supreme natural talent honed to the highest degree, he had a racing brain to match and spare mental capacity that enabled him to make split-second decisions, adapt to changing circumstances and plan ahead while driving on the limit, which with his superb state of fitness (he trained harder than any driver) he could do consistently for lengthy periods of time.

The smoothly swift and mechanically-aware driver operated with a keen sensitivity for the limits of his car and himself (he seldom made mistakes) and his feedback to the engineers (led by technical director Ross Brawn who worked with him throughout his career) was invariably astute. Info Close No Ferrari driver worked harder for the team, nor were any of them more appreciated than the German who led the Italian team to six successive Constructors' Championships. He led by example, frequently visiting the factory at Maranello, talking to the personnel, thanking them, encouraging them, never criticising and inspiring everyone with his optimism, high energy level and huge work ethic. The team was devoted to the driver who often said he loved the Ferrari 'family.' Life with his own family - wife Corinna and their children Gina-Maria and Mick - was deliberately kept as normal as possible (they seldom came to the races) by the essentially shy and private man who became one of the most famous sportsmen in the world.

Rich beyond his wildest dreams (he reportedly earned as much as $100 million a year), he generously supported charities, especially those for underprivileged children, and to help victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster he made a personal donation of $10 million. After finishing second in the 2006 championship, the aging superstar was still at the peak of his powers, having won seven races to bring his total to 91 (40 more than his nearest rival, Alain Prost.) No champion had been so superior for so long, but Schumi had grown tired of the effort required to continue to excel and decided to hang up his helmet. Yet his retirement proved to be only temporary. In 2010, after a three-year hiatus as a consultant to Ferrari, 41-year-old Michael Schumacher succumbed to the lure of driving for the new Mercedes team headed by Ross Brawn. Critics questioned the multiple champion's decision to risk his reputation in the sport that was once his personal playground. He gave his best but made it to the podium only once during his three-year comeback.

In his final season of 2012 his opponents included five other world champions - all of them at least a decade younger. "I enjoyed most of it," Michael Schumacher said of the second part of his career. "It wasn't as successful as before but I still learned a lot for life. I found that losing can be both more difficult and more instructive than winning. Now is a good time to go." In the cruelest of ironies, after surviving so many seasons in his dangerous profession, Michael Schumacher’s first year in permanent retirement ended with him suffering a very serious head injury incurred when he fell while on a family skiing holiday. Following the accident that left him in a coma for several months his family brought him home where he faced a lengthy period of rehabilitation. If the power of public opinion could help his recovery it came in the form of a tremendous outpouring of messages of hope, support and encouragement for the sport’s most successful driver.

Text - Gerald Donaldson F1 legend Michael Schumacher 'out of coma' - BBC News BBC News F1 legend Michael Schumacher 'out of coma' 16 June 2014 Close share panel Media captionThe BBC's Christian Fraser takes a look back at what happened to the F1 star F1 champion Michael Schumacher has left hospital in Grenoble and is no longer in a coma, his family says. The 45-year-old has been transferred to Lausanne university hospital in Switzerland, officials there say. Schumacher was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on 29 December. His family thanked people who had sent messages of support, saying: "We are sure it helped him." They also praised the "excellent job" of medical staff at the hospital in Grenoble, in south-east France. Doctors had kept the seven-time champion in a coma to help reduce swelling in his brain. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Michael Schumacher had been treated at Grenoble's University Hospital Centre in the French Alps "Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation.

He is not in a coma anymore," Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, said in a statement on behalf of his family on Monday. "For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye," she said, without giving further details. Relatives have previously warned that "it was clear from the start that this will be a long and hard fight for Michael". The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva reports that the university hospital in Lausanne is one of Switzerland's most renowned. He will have a team of specialists, and his own private accommodation, and he will be much closer to his family home on the shores of Lake Geneva, our correspondent says. But it is not clear what Schumacher's condition is and his process of recovery is still expected to be a long one, she adds.

Monday's statement was the first substantial update since early April when Ms Kehm said the German racing driver was showing "moments of consciousness and awakening." Medically induced coma Can be induced by powerful anaesthetics and is broadly similar to the sedation and artificial ventilation used during surgery Used to shut down many brain functions, lowering blood flow and pressure Taking a patient out of an induced coma is a delicate process, especially after a prolonged period of sedation Neurosurgeon Tony Belli told the BBC that rehabilitation from this sort of injury could take months or years. "We know that some people can spend three, four years in rehabilitation," he said. "It depends very much on the severity of the injury, how young and fit they are." Meanwhile, the German football team sent their wishes to the F1 legend from the World Cup in Brazil at the weekend. Lukas Podolski, the Arsenal striker, told a news conference: "I'd like to greet a good friend, who unfortunately is unable to be here. He is Michael Schumacher. "He is just as crazy about football as all of us. We wish his family a lot of strength.

If we win the title, that would be something that would make him happy." Michael Schumacher First GP win: Belgium 1992 Last GP win: China 2006 Races started: 303 Wins: 91 (155 podium finishes) Championships: 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 The BBC's James Allen says the reaction from the F1 world has been enormously positive on one level, but the lack of specific details about his condition has left a question mark for many people. The Mercedes team, for which Schumacher raced in the last three years of his career, posted on Twitter : "Encouraging news on Michael's condition this morning. We couldn't ask for a better start to the week." Ferrari's Renato Bisignani told the BBC: "My reaction is one of overwhelming joy.

There is not one day when we haven't thought of Michael, followed his progress and remembered him." Investigators probing last December's accident said Schumacher had been going at the speed of "a very good skier" at the time of his crash in the resort of Meribel. He had been skiing off-piste when he fell and hit a rock, investigators said. Schumacher retired from racing in 2012 after a 19-year career. He won two titles with Benetton, in 1994 and 1995, before switching to Ferrari in 1996 and going on to win five straight titles from 2000.

Michael Schumacher won his last F1 race at the Chinese GP: Here are ALL 91 of his GP victories | Daily Mail Online Michael Schumacher won his last F1 race at the Chinese Grand Prix 10 years ago, here we picture ALL 91 of his GP victories The 2016 Formula One season resumes in Shanghai this weekend for the Chinese Grand Prix It was in China where Michael Schumacher won his last F1 race while driving for Ferrari in 2006 German failed to claim victory after coming out of retirement to race with Mercedes for three years in 2010 The seven-time world champion's 91 grand prix victories for Ferrari and Benetton is a record in the sport Schumacher, making slow progress, is still recovering from life threatening skiing accident in 2013 Schumi | Article about Schumi by The Free Dictionary Schumi | Article about Schumi by The Free Dictionary Friday, January 03, 1969 Schumacher, Michael (sho͞o`mäkhər), 1969–, German auto race driver, b. Hürth-Hermühlheim.

Regarded as the best Formula 1 (F1) driver of his era, he debuted as a racecar driver in 1988 and within two years had become Germany's Formula Three champion. His first F1 race was the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, and his first F1 victory was in the same event in 1992. Schumacher drove with the Jordan team (his first race), Benetton (1991–95), Ferrari (1995–2006), and Mercedes (2010–12). He won the world championship in 1994, repeating the feat in 1995. His career was interrupted in 1999, when he suffered a broken leg in his first severe crash, but in 2000 he began a five-year reign as world champion, becoming the first driver to win the F1 title seven times. Schumacher has 91 career F1 race wins. He was severely injured in a skiing accident in 2013.

Michael Schumacher's Benetton F1 car that he drove to his first ever podium finish in 1992 is set to fetch £300,000 at auction | Daily Mail Online Michael Schumacher's Benetton F1 car that he drove to his first ever podium finish in 1992 is set to fetch £300,000 at auction Michael Schumacher won seven championships between 1994 and 2004 The car that he drove to his first podium finish in 1992 is to be auctioned The Bennetton could fetch £300,000 at Bonhams Auctioneers on Sunday comments The Benetton Formula One car that launched the career of legendary multiple world champion Michael Schumacher is set to be auctioned off. A 23-year-old Schumacher raced this very car to his first ever podium finish at the last Mexican Grand Prix in his debut F1 season back in 1992. And racing fans will have the opportunity to buy a piece of F1 history when the Benetton-Ford B191B goes under the hammer at Bonhams Bond Street sale on Sunday.

Michael Schumacher won an unprecedented seven world championships and 91 races in his career He spent five seasons driving for Benetton before moving to Ferrari where he enjoyed great success Michael Schumacher drove the Benetton to his first ever podium finish at the Mexico Grand Prix in 1992 The multiple world champion won two titles with the Benetton team in 1994 and again the following season The very car driven by Schumacher is set to fetch up to £300,000 at Sunday's Bonhams auction The car, that is in full working order and in almost the exact same condition as when it was last driven by Schumacher, will set you back as much as £300,000, experts are predicting. Schumacher's third-place finish in Mexico kick-started a career of unprecedented success. The German won seven drivers' championships during a ten-year domination of the sport between 1994 and 2004. He also achieved a staggering 91 race wins, 40 more than any other driver in the history of F1.

The 22-year-old F1 car is still in full working order and in the same condition as when Schumacher last drove it The car was shortly retired after Schumacher claimed his first podium finish in 1992 The Benetton was powered by a Ford 3.5-litre V8 engine with a whopping 730 horse power 'Chassis 6 is highly respected as the Benetton that took Schumacher to his first podium position,' said James Knight, Bonhams International Head of Motoring. 'But, that's not where the story ends, for this was also the car that took three-time Formula One World Champion driver, Brazil's Nelson Piquet, through his last Grand Prix on the beautiful Adelaide street and parkland circuit in the 1991 season.' F1: Michael Schumacher's 10 greatest drives | FOX Sports Dec 29, 2014 at 11:52a ET 0 Shares On Dec. 29, 2013, seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher was severely injured in a skiing crash in the French Alps.

Since then, very little news about the condition of the German has emerged, other than he is in a stable, non-life threatening condition and is currently undergoing medical attention in his home in Switzerland. Schumacher is statistically the most successful Formula One driver of all time, yet many attribute that – with justification at times – to being in the right car at the right time. However, one doesn’t become a seven-time champion without a few spectacular drives. There were several to choose from but, in the end, here’s what we listed as 10 of Michael Schumacher’s finest races: 10: 2006 Brazilian GP Michael Schumacher had a shot to win eight World Championships in Formula One though – granted – it was unlikely. The German had lost out to Spaniard Fernando Alonso in the fight for the 2005 title and looked set to lose out to him again after his engine had let go at the Japanese GP. Unfortunately, in his final race for Ferrari and what was – at the time – expected to be his final race in F1, Schumacher cut down a tire early on in the race and had to limp back to the pits.

He almost fell a lap down in doing so but was able to rally back up to fourth place – just 24 seconds behind the winner – when the checkered flag fell. It was a stunning drive but not quite enough, and Alonso took the title. 9: 1995 European GP Michael Schumacher (Benetton) passes Jean Alesi (Ferrari) for the lead and the win at the 1995 European GP. Schumacher was known for excelling well in races that were ran in the wet or – in this case – mixed conditions. The 1995 European GP – held at the Nurburgring – had started off in the wet, but had gradually began to dry out. Ferrari driver Jean Alesi fitted the right tires onto his car at the right time, leaving Schumacher (and the rest of the field) 30 seconds behind. However, the Benetton driver got down to work and clawed that time back, making a daring move on Alesi with 2 to go for the win.

8: 2004 French GP The Circuit de Magny-Cours has a very short pit road, which worked to Schumacher’s advantage at the 2004 French GP. Fernando Alonso was leading late on the going in the Renault, and it seemed the only way Schumacher was going to get by was by playing the strategy card. The Ferrari-driver was well-known for being able to put on hot laps with very low fuel loads, and so that’s when the team decided to switch him over to an unprecedented four-stop strategy. The gamble paid off and Schumacher took the win. 7: 1994 Spanish GP: Michael Schumacher leads the field away at the start of the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher looked set to win the 1994 Grand Prix in Spain, but things began to fall apart early on when his gearbox jammed up in fifth. Damon Hill went on by and on to take victory, but Schumacher was somehow able to drive the car all the way to the end in fifth gear, even throughout the course of pit stops where he struggled just to keep the car running.

The Benetton driver came home with a second-place finish. 6: 1998 Hungarain GP: Schumacher was aided by gremlins on Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren to win the 1998 Hungarian GP, but it was still a fantastic drive. The German had been racing the McLarens of Hakkinen and Coulthard all race long, but now found himself just in front of them but with an extra pit stop still to go. Schumacher put the pedal down and was able to build up enough of a gap – partially thanks to the aforementioned shock absorber problem on Hakkinen’s car – to pit and come out again with the lead and the win. 5: 1997 Belgian GP: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) passes Jean Alesi (Benetton) soon after the Safety Car had pulled in at the start of the 1997 Belgian GP. Schumacher made it clear throughout his career that Spa was his favorite track, and there were numerous impressive drives from him that demonstrated that. One of his better ones was the 1997 Belgian GP – which was held in the wet.

Schumacher passed the cars in front early on after the field had started behind the Safety Car and had built up a lead of about 40 seconds within five laps. Game over. 4: 1997 Monaco GP: In a similar situation to the 1997 Belgian GP, Schumacher and his Ferrari simply humiliated the field in damp conditions on the streets of Monaco, going on to win by 53 seconds while a demolition derby erupted behind him. 3: 1992 Belgian GP: Michael Schumacher races en route to victory at the 1992 Belgian GP. Schumacher returned to Spa-Francorchamps just one year after making his Formula One debut at the same circuit. In that race, he had retired with a mechanical failure from seventh on the grid on the opening lap. This year, he redeemed himself, and logged his first of 91 wins in damp conditions that went dry. Racing for Benetton, It was the only win that was not in a Williams or a McLaren during the ’92 season.

2: 1995 Belgian GP: One of the more entertaining races on this list came when Schumacher started 16th on the grid following a crash during qualifying at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The German engaged in a lively mid-race battle with Williams’ driver Damon Hill … and ran off, which gave Hill the position. However, Schumacher came in to change tires right when conditions were changing which was enough for him to leapfrog Hill and take a famous victory. 1: 1996 Spanish GP: Michael Schumacher competes en route to his first Formula One win for Ferrari at the 1996 Spanish GP. Ferrari was not always the powerhouse in Formula One that it is now and, before Schumacher came to the team in 1996, they had been struggling. However, the 1996 Spanish GP – which was held in appalling conditions – gave us a demonstration of what Schumacher and Ferrari could do: dominate. The German pulled away from the field at around 2 seconds a lap through the rain-soaked circuit and got his first win for Ferrari by 45 seconds – lapping up to third place.

Click HERE for a gallery of moments from Michael Schumacher’s racing career. 0

Question: Michael Schumacher had his first F1 win in 1992, for which team was he driving?
Answer: BENETTON